ARRL News

American Radio Relay League \| Ham Radio Association and Resources The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) is the national association for amateur radio, connecting hams around the U.S. with news, information and resources.
The October 2025 West Coast Qualifying Run has been rescheduled The October 2025 West Coast Qualifying Run originally scheduled for Saturday, October 25 at 2 PM PDT (October 25 at 2100z) had to be rescheduled. The new date and time are Wednesday, October 29 at 9 PM PDT (October 30 at 0400z). West Coast Station K6XX will transmit the official ARRL Qualifying Run on 3581.5, 7047.5, and 14047.5 kHz. The speeds will run from 10 to 35 WPM.
Hurricane Melissa Update Updated Tuesday, October 28, 2025 @ 7 AM EDT Hurricane Melissa, now a category 5 storm, is expected to make landfall in Jamaica today, across southeastern Cuba Wednesday morning, and across the southeastern or central Bahamas later on Wednesday. Conditions are deteriorating on Jamaica with catastrophic winds, flash flood, and storm surge. The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) and The VoIP Hurricane Net...
Important Notice: Keep Clear of Emergency Frequencies During the Contest Weekend Tropical Storm Melissa is nearly stationary in Caribbean on Friday, October, 24, 2025. Forecasters warn it could quickly intensify, impacting Jamaica as a hurricane and causing catastrophic flooding and landslides Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) a group of licensed Amateur Radio Operators trained and organized to provide essential communications support to the Na...
The ARRL Solar Update Solar activity reached moderate levels this past week, but has now returned to, and remains at, lower levels. Region 4248 produced an M1.1 flare on October 20, which was the largest event of the period. Region 4261 was numbered this period as it rotated into better viewing conditions. Region 4262 was numbered this period as well, splitting it from Region 4257. Additionally, new spots were noted near ...
The ARRL Solar Update Region AR4246 underwent significant evolution, growing in overall size while gaining multiple new spots. Subsequently, AR4246 was the main provider of activity which included an M1.2 flare on October 13. Several coronal mass ejections (CMEs) with potential Earth-directed components are in the mix at this time. Additional modeling efforts are underway to perhaps confirm those suspicions. The largest f...
FCC Announces Intent to Delete Minor Part 97 Provisions As part of a much larger overhaul focused on deleting almost 400 obsolete wireless regulations, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced plans to delete or modify four minor provisions of Part 97. ARRL’s Washington Counsel has reviewed the proposal and agrees that the deletions are to obsolete rules and will have no impact on today’s modern Amateur Radio Service. One of the del...
ARRL Year of the Club Website Contest — Call for Submissions!
Amateur Radio Runs with the Chicago Marathon Amateur radio operators serve their communities across the United States in many ways, before and When All Else Fails®. Using their skills as communicators, their personal equipment, and the Amateur Radio Service, the “hams” provide a needed boost to public safety radio systems. The 47th Bank of America Chicago Marathon, held on October 12, 2025, featured 55,000 runners from around the world. An...
ARRL Online Auction Closes October 16
Ed Hare, W1RFI, Long time ARRL Lab Engineer, Passes Away Edward F. “Ed” Hare, Jr., W1RFI, who spent decades as an employee of ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®, has become a Silent Key. He died on October 10, 2025, at the age of 75 after an illness. Hare first earned his Amateur Radio Service license as a teenager as WN1CYF (later WA1CYF and KA1CV) and was active in ham radio throughout his life. He was an avid QRP (low power) operator,...
The ARRL Solar Update Solar activity has been at moderate levels for the past 24 hours. Solar activity is expected to be low with a chance for M class flares. Solar wind speed reached a peak of 1124 km/s. Solar activity reached moderate levels following an M2.0 flare (R1-Minor) at from a region just around the Northwestern limb. Only low-level C-class activity was observed from the remaining spotted regions on the visibl...
Zoe Rodriguez Named 2025 Craigie Memorial Educator
ARRL Year of the Club Newsletter Contest - Call for Submissions
ARRL Foundation Accepting Grant Applications in October The ARRL Foundation is accepting grant applications from amateur radio organizations for eligible amateur radio-related projects and initiatives, particularly those focused on educating, licensing, and supporting amateur radio activities. To grow amateur radio's future, youth-based projects and initiatives are especially encouraged. The ARRL Foundation grants program accepts proposals on a cycli...
Amateur Radio Licensing Update During US Government Shutdown *Original Story 10/1/2025* Updated 10/2/2025 (CORES is not available for new registrants) Updated 10/3/2025 (Temporary testing procedures for examinees without FRNs) A bulletin sent to members of ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® included information about the impact of the US Government shutdown on licensing for the Amateur Radio Service. The government shutdown began at 12:01 Eastern...